Author's Note: Yes, I lied in the preivous chapter. It took me much longer than a week to get the second part out, and I'm sorry. But, it's finally here! And very unbeta read. I take full responsibility for all mistakes, and I wouldn't mind if you pointed them out to me! I apologize if it may be a bit confusing, but I promise all things will come together in the last chapter, which will either be chapter three or, possibly, a chapter four. But, without further adieu...
'blahblah' - thoughts
blahblah - flashback
Discliamer: I don't own a bloody thing in this story, except the story itself.
Cinnamon and Coal
Part Two: A Potions Master's Perspective
'How fitting…'
The sky, in all its vastness, was nothing but an overcast of slate. There was no definition, not even a single wisp to give away that the sudden change in the sky's color was nothing but a palate of thin, flat clouds. The lack of crystal blue heavens, bright, shining sunshine, and the wistful chirping and banter of the harmless magical creatures that lived outside of the Forbidden Forest seemed to suck all of the happiness and cheer out of the school's grounds, leaving nothing but melancholy, gloom, and a sense of...
...pending.
As the snow melted and sloshed around his dragon skin boots, Severus Snape couldn't help but curse the weather for mirroring his current state of being.
Early morning, January 8, had been nothing but sunshine and clear skies.
Late evening, January 8, gray clouds of uncertainty had begun to roll in.
Severus' eyes shut tightly as he tried to clear his mind of the day before.
Long, calloused fingertips lightly grazed over the golden, pink-tinged skin of her face.
A soft, sharp gasp escaped her uncolored lips, and the grazing fingertips caught those full, parted lips before they could be closed.
She was so warm...
January 9 was shaping up to be the total opposite.
A low growl emitted from the depth of Snape's throat, and all that he could do the quell the low bubble of anger in his belly was glare upward at the overcast sky. His lips instinctively curled into a sneer, and he silently cursed the heavens for the decision he had made.
Severus Snape was not spending Sunday morning, this Sunday morning, out in the below-freezing temperatures for nothing.
When had he been accustomed to searching her out every time?
The first accidental encounter in the Great Hall had lead to the second, the third...
And now, two months later, limping through the dark, sputtering a crimson substance from between his teeth and breathing in heavy rasps, he was searching for her...
And there she was.
An internal struggle raged inside of Snape's chest, constantly questioning his actions and giving reasons for his decision. Was this really his plan? To stand in the snow, waiting for her arrival? And what he had planned... Was this truly the only way? He knew that there were several consequences to what would occur shortly, but he also knew it was the only way to gain the ultimate assurance that -
A rustling in the trees across the clearing, soft mutterings in a voice that brought thoughts of rich desserts, and a soft panging in his chest announced her arrival.
From behind his desk, his eyes were focused on one person, and one person alone. Her face was set into a stern sense of concentration as she began the task at hand, stirring the potion before her counterclockwise to try and accomplish the azure color that he'd assigned.
His mind wandered over to the previous night.
Her hands – those gracious hands – pulling out phial after phial of different colored potions from underneath her robes.
The hot, foul tasting liquids stung his palate and throat, but he could not avert his eyes from her face. The concern...
He could feel the tendons in his leg begin to knit themselves back together, and as his body began to heal, she cradled his head in her lap, soft fingertips running through his lanky, greasy hair.
'So soothing...'
He took a sharp intake of air as his thoughts returned to the present. His chest had tightened, and he felt...something inside of him reaching out for her.
On the other side of the classroom, a honey-curled seventh year jumped from her seat with a loud gasp, as if she had been suddenly startled by an invisible force.
Cinnamon met coal, and a sudden jolt through his body screamed, "She will be the end of you!"
A cauldron, recently neglected, erupted in a small explosion.
He felt his breath catch in his chest as she emerged from the forest, and he noticed how the neutral tones of their surroundings seemed to fade into something more...golden. She was dressed in Muggle clothes too cool for the current atmosphere, and he knew she'd cast a warming charm on herself. Those honey curls framed her face, and he remembered...
His fingers running through a thick handful of her silky hair...
Soft lips pressing against his palm, his wrist, his jaw, his...
The look on her face gave away every single thought in her head, and it didn't take an experienced Legilimens to decipher them. She'd read every single word he wrote on that piece of parchment he'd left on her pillow, and if he knew her at all, she'd understood it without a second glance. But, just because she'd understood, didn't mean she'd approved.
He could practically feel the waves of frustration, anger, sadness, contemplation, confusion, and betrayal radiating off of her. Normally, he would've scolded her for such trivial and conflicting emotions. They would only get in her way, throw her from her path, cloud her judgment -
'Make her fall deeper for you.'
Cinnamon bore deep into coal, searching for a reason; searching for another way out. Her brows had furrowed, knit closely together as she found nothing in his gaze but a simple, 'This is the only way.'
His eyes locked onto hers, and he knew they were thinking of the same thing.
"Professor...?"
"What is it, Miss Granger?"
"I..." A pause. "I..."
"Out with it, girl, I don't have all day."
Her face contorted into an expression of embarrassment and determination.
"Professor Snape, I believe that after the months that have preceded us and the...relationship that has slowly formed between us-"
"Miss Granger, I don't believe -"
"Don't interrupt, sir!"
"I will not tolerate such insubordination!" Her cheeks flushed, and he mentally slapped himself for snapping at her so harshly. But, in all reality, she was his subordinate. He was her Potions Master, and she was his student. She had no control over him, and any attempt on her part to do so would result in point reduction and possible detention, just like any other student.
She had no control...
Or was he just trying to deny their...situation.
He had expected her to run off, tears in her eyes from his outburst.
But she didn't.
Instead, she stood before him, her cheeks turning to an absolute shade of crimson, and not from embarrassment. Her hands clenched into small, tight fists, and he could hear her teeth grinding together. Even her hair seemed to frazzle more than usual with static electricity, and he could see some sort of fire burning in those spice-tinted eyes.
Hermione Granger was radiating with anger.
"Insubordination?" She practically screamed at him. He was lucky she had caught him in the dungeons, rather than in the Great Hall or somewhere more...revealing.
"INSUBORDINATION?" She repeated. "After all that has passed between us, and all that I've done for you, you still refer to me as your insubordinate? After you've told me your darkest secrets, after I've healed your body from the countless injuries and held you through the after effects of all the Cruciatus Curses thrown after you!"
His heartbeat was hastening. Did she truly believe that she had the right to speak to him this way? He could feel his palms beginning to sweat, and the meeting with Minerva that he had been heading to before he had been oh-so-rudely intercepted was long forgotten. A student was mouthing him, Severus Snape, off in the middle of Slytherin territory, and there was no excuse for her actions!
Or was there...?
Before he could stop himself, Hermione was pinned against the wall, both of his hands on her shoulders, and his eyes were blazing with fury. But her incessant rambling had not ceased.
"You let me into your private lab to brew your Blood Replenishing and Dreamless Sleep Potions! You let me read your books and study in your library! You came to me, Professor, after every Death Eater meeting and let me cradle your head in my lap and coo you to sleep."
She was reciting his weaknesses at him, and this caused a vicious snarl to erupt from his lips, but before he could bark back his response, she began again.
"I just came here to tell you-" Her voice cracked, and he could see the tears finally welling in her eyes."I came here...to tell you..." Her voice was softening, and this only angered him more.
"WHAT, MISS GRANGER? What is so important that you felt the need to intercept me while I was on my way to a very important meeting with the Headmistress, overstep your authority as a student and mouth off to your Potions Master on school grounds, and spit out every sign of weakness I have unwillingly shown you these last few months directly into my face?" He was heaving now, after he'd barked out every single word, enunciating them sharply.
He was furious.
She whimpered, and he realized his fingers were digging deep into her shoulders, undoubtedly leaving bruises. He snatched his hands away as if he'd been burned, and took a few steps back, his eyes never leaving hers. His chest continued to heave, as anger boiled deep beneath his belly. He still couldn't fathom why he had had such a violent eruption, but there was no taking it back now. Perhaps it was because hearing her practically call him weak to his face was hitting a soft spot within him.
Yes, he had gone to her, but he didn't expect that she'd use it against him in such a way.
Except...
"I came her, sir..." She began, her voice wavering from stifled sobs, barely above a whisper.
"To tell you that I think I'm in love with you."
She fled.
He could only watch.
Now was not the time to mull over the past.
It took a nothing short of a force of will to pull an expression of indifference over his face. If he was going to follow through with his plan, then...
"I assume you remember how to duel, Miss Granger?"
He hadn't referred to her as "Miss Granger" in quite some time, and the words seemed foreign on his lips. His voice, full of professionalism and indifference, broke the silence between them, and he could almost see her flinch as she heard him.
"I do."
She'd taken his lead, and the "insufferable know-it-all" presented herself before him, standing tall and straight, reaching into her back pocket for what he assumed to be her wand.
It almost panged him to see her like that, reading his eyes, still trying to search for another way. But all he would show her is what he knew to be true: This was it. This was the ultimate test.
"Then, let us begin."
A/N: I know that this was basically the last chapter, but from Severus' point of view, but that was the total point! Now there is more plot involved, yet the reason why they are about to duel has yet to be unveiled. I promise to have Part Three out shortly, though I doubt it will be within the last week.
Please review! It keeps me going.
